I spent the last week with Beth and Rita in Venice and Verona after we conducted a photo workshop for five Missouri students the week before in Munich. Venice is a remarkable city that everyone should have seen at least once. However, it’s also a dying city, killed by the obsolescence of the trade that once made it rich and by the hordes of tourists that suck the remaining bits of genuine Venetian life out of its veins.
While it’s an amazing and fascinating place to see, it’s also extremely exhausting. Both the heat and the masses of people around every corner took their toll on us, and after three days, we were more than happy to leave the laguna behind and escape to Verona.
The setting sun shines through the main hall of Santa Lucia train station, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. The construction of the railway bridge that connects the laguna with the mainland has severly disturbed the natural tidal flow around Venice, leading to increased floods.
A "Vaporetto" water bus steams past Ferrovia station at the Grand Canal, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. ACTV, the operator of the water busses, owns currently around 120 water borne vessels and transports upward of 180 million people annualy.
Murano glass wear is displayed in a shop window in the San Marco quarter near the Rialto Bridge, Wednesday, June 27, 2012.
Two young couples hang out on the Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal, Wednesday, June 27, 2012.
Rita Reed, my former professor, Master's committee chair and second mom in the U.S., takes a photo on the famous Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. It was the night of Rita's 62nd birthday. Happy Birthday again, it was a blast!
Hordes of tourists crowd the area in front of the Basilica di San Marco at St. Mark's Square, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The Piazza St. Marco and its surrounding buildings are the most famous architectural landmark in Venice.
Tourists snap a picture of carnival masks displayed in a store window in the San Marco quarter, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Genuine Venetian masks are handmade and very costly. Unsuspecting tourists often fall for the cheaper and low-quality imitations from East Asia sold by street vendors and in souvenir shops.
A tourist couple enjoys a Gondola ride in the Cannaregio neighborhood, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. Formerly the only means of transportation in Venice, there are now about 500 gondolas left. At € 80.00 for a 40-minute ride during the day and € 100.00 at night, a gondola ride is an expensive affair.
A group of young men watches a girl pass by at the Rialto vaporetto station, Wednesday, June 27, 2012.
July 2, 2012
As I discovered new parts of my beloved island that I hadn’t seen previously on our hikes with Beth, Flo and Corinna (see also my post from yesterday), I played around more with panoramas. I’m trying to get a grip on this technique, as it massively distorts the scenery in front of you. Apart from getting a uniform exposure over the entire panorama, I’m also trying to figure out how to play with background and foreground as well as depth of field. Below are some of the ones I liked. Click the pictures to view them large (the large files are downsampled to 3,000 pixels on the long side. The originals are up to 30,000 pixels).
View from the patio to Porto Azzurro; approximately 270 degrees. Monday, May 14, 2012.
On the Percorso del Monserrato, Porto Azzurro; full 360 degrees. Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
On the Percorso del Monserrato, Porto Azzurro; full 360 degrees. Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
On Monte Perrone, Marciana; approximately 270 degrees. Friday, May 18, 2012.
On Monte Strega, Rio nell'Elba; full 360 degrees. Monday, May 21, 2012.
On L'Aquila, Marciana; full 360 degrees. Friday, May 18, 2012 (Happy birthday, Beth!).
June 4, 2012
We recently came back from a two-week trip with Flo and Corinna to the island of Elba in Tuscany, Italy. Even though it wasn’t the expected fry-in-the-sun-at-the-beach vacation because of the chilly spring-time weather, it was a great trip. May is wild flower season in Tuscany and the entire island was exploding with colors. We went on several hikes and saw places that I have never been to in the thirty years that I’ve visited this island now. Below are a few impressions of the Elban spring.
Flo and Corinna feed the sea gulls on the ferry from Piombino to Porto Ferraio, Elba, Sunday, May 13, 2012.
Lichen and two-colored rock work together to create an abstract painting on the Percorso del Monserrato hiking trail in Porto Azzurro, Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
Looking East from our roof terrace across the sea to the Italian main land, Saturday, May 19, 2012.
Beth celebrates her birthday at L'Aquila (the eagle) just off the pilgrims' church of Madonna del Monte above the village of Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
A huge agave spreads its leaves at the Percorso del Monserrato hiking trail.
Flo hikes up the Percorso Pietre Rosse trail from Cala Del' Inferno beach in Rio nell'Elba.
Pine trees cast their shadows on the grass underneath at Mount Calamita, Capoliveri, Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Flo, Beth and Corinna take a break after hiking up the steep and strenuous trail to Monte Strega, Rio nell'Elba, Monday, May 21, 2012.
Rosaries, photographs and other offerings are lined up on a wall inside the Madonna del Monte pilgrims' church above the mountain village of Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
Flo, Corinna and Beth fool around while watching the sunset atop L'Aquila in Marciana, Friday, May 18, 2012.
June 3, 2012
I’ve been playing around with panoramas lately, first on my phone and then with my “real” camera. I liked some of the results made with the phone, but the native Android camera – which in my opinion makes the best panoramas – only saves tiny files that aren’t large enough to print. At my brother’s birthday, I took a series of pictures with my M9 that I wanted to turn into a panorama later, but then I forgot about them and they cought digital dust on my hard drive.
Yesterday, while cleaning up my computer, I found a panorama software that I bought a while back and remembered the pictures I took at Basti’s birthday. It didn’t take long to stitch the ten images together, and I think for a quick shot from the hip the result is really presentable. What I really like about it is that it doesn’t scale down the final panorama so that I can make large prints from the files. I will definitely play around more with this program in the near future. Stay tuned!
May 9, 2012
